Scottie Scheffler is in the driving seat as he targets a first FedEx Cup title, taking a five-shot lead into the final day at the Tour Championship.

The world number one made a slow start on Saturday but recovered to finish strongly with four birdies on the final five holes to maintain his lead, as he carded 66, moving his total to 26-under.

Scheffler is aiming to win his seventh PGA Tour event of the season at East Lake, with Collin Morikawa closest to him in second having carded a 67 in the third round.

"I've had my chances here to win some tournaments, and I'll have no better opportunity than Sunday," said Scheffler.

"I've been mentally at my best this year, and I'm looking forward to doing more of that in the last round."

Morikawa played himself into contention on Friday and was able to keep the pace with birdies on three of the last four holes on Saturday, while Xander Schaffuele slipped down to fourth, 10 shots off the top, with Sahith Theegala above him on 17-under.

After Morikawa's strong finish on Saturday, he remains hopeful that he will get a stroke of luck on Sunday to pip his compatriot to the title.

"It's going to be very hard, but I believe in myself that I can do it," Morikawa said.

"Five shots is a lot, but two-shot swings happen. I think I've seen a couple over the past few days.

"I've just got to play my game. I've got to go low. I've got 18 holes left in the season - I'm going to put everything I have into these next 24 hours."

Scottie Scheffler insists his swing is "in a good spot" despite seeing his lead at the top of the Tour Championship standings cut to four shots on the second day.

Scheffler, who is aiming to win his first FedEx Cup title, carded 65 in his opening round and entered the second round with a 10-shot lead.

However, the world number one saw American duo Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele close the gap during a weather-disrupted second round on Friday.

Scheffler carded a round of 66 to take himself to 21 under par, aided by two birdies in the final three holes to keep the chasing back at bay. 

"I feel like my swing is in a good spot, and I've hit it nice the last couple of days," he said. "A lot of quality stuff out there, and in a good spot going into the weekend."

Morikawa is four shots off the pace after producing a superb eight-under 63, which was the best round of the day, and has surged up the standings to second place.

In an impressive round, he dropped just one shot on the 11th hole, but made amends on the back nine before closing with back-to-back birdies. 

"He's going to continue to make birdies," Morikawa said about the possibility of catching Scheffler. "He's driving it really, really well here, and you're giving yourself enough wedges to make some scoring opportunities out there.

"For me, it's just about bringing energy and just staying alive out there."

Schauffele is in third, one shot behind compatriot Morikawa, after shooting an impressive second-round 64 to remain in the hunt for the $25million prize money. 

There is then a four-shot gap until a group of three players, including Adam Scott, are tied for fourth place at 12 under, while Rory McIlroy is tied for 10th place on eight under.

Scottie Scheffler was left to rue "another frustrating day" at the US Open on Saturday, when Collin Morikawa found form on moving day at Pinehurst.

World number one Scheffler struggled once again in North Carolina, carding a one-over 71 to drop down to six-over par after the third day.

The two-time Masters champion has now shot four consecutive rounds over par for the first time in his professional career and catching the likes of Matthieu Pavon, Bryson Dechambeau and Tony Finau appears unlikely.

"Another frustrating day," Scheffler said on Sky Sports after his putter went cold once more. "Today was a day where I thought I played a lot better than my score.

"I'm having a lot of trouble reading these greens. I had a lot of putts today where I felt like I hit it really good. I looked up and they were not going the way I thought they were going to go."

Morikawa, in stark contrast, went on a hot streak with his putter and finished with a four-under 66 to move back to level par, sneaking within touching distance of the top 10.

The two-time major champion still has serious ground to make up to catch the leading trio on Sunday, with Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Cantlay, Corey Conners and Tyrrell Hatton all chasing at the top as well.

"If I play the way I did today, who knows what could happen," Morikawa said. "This course is only going to get tougher. 

"I know it's not going to be easy. Today was not easy by any means. I just put it in the right spot, kept the ball in front of me, really just played very simple golf."

Rory McIlroy remains in with the contending pack, aiming to end a 10-year wait for major success, but may be concerned if countryman Shane Lowry's words are anything to go by.

Lowry stayed on five-over for the tournament after battling through "torture" from the Pinehurst No.2 course, offering a warning to all competing this weekend.

"It's torture out there, honestly it's absolute mental torture," Lowry said. "That's the best level par I've ever shot in my life.

"Every single shot you have, even when you hit a good shot the putts you have, it's brutally difficult. It's not much crack out there, to be honest.

"The wind's in a different direction so some of the par fours are really long. You really just have to manage your way well around there and I did a great job today."

Matt Fitzpatrick and his brother Alex shot a four-ball round of 62 on Thursday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to sit one stroke off the lead through 18 holes in the unique format.

The only duos event on the PGA Tour calendar, the pairs of Wyndham Clark with Beau Hossler and Sean O'Hair with Brandon Matthews took the first-round lead with 11-under 61s as each member played every hole, with only the best score from each hole counting towards their team's score.

Hossler contributed seven of his team's 11 birdies, while Matthews had five birdies and an eagle for his pairing.

The Fitzpatrick brothers poured in five birdies each to earn a spot in the five-way tie for second place, joined by the teams of Keith Mitchell with Im Sung-jae, David Lipski with Aaron Rai, Henrik Norlander with Luke List, and Noh Seung-yul with Michael Kim.

Last year's runners-up Sam Burns and Billy Horschel are three strokes off the pace in a logjam at eight under, while one of the strongest teams in the field featuring world number 13 Collin Morikawa and world number seven Max Homa are tied for 43rd at six under.

Reigning champions Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay were disappointing, two strokes outside of the cut-line at five under, but they will hope to claw their way back into things when the format switches to alternate shot foursomes on Friday.

Friday at Augusta National Golf Club was the Brooks Koepka show as the four-time major champion raced out to a three-stroke lead heading into the weekend at the Masters.

Koepka, who opened his week with a seven-under 65 to grab a share of the lead through 18 holes, followed it with a five-under 67 as part of the lucky morning wave who were able to get their rounds in before the harsh weather arrived.

After eight birdies and one bogey on Thursday, Koepka put together a bogey-free round with three birdies and an eagle as he continued his momentum from last week's victory at LIV Golf Orlando.

Jon Rahm was not so lucky to avoid the strong winds and rain arriving later in the day, but he handled it as well as anyone. He started his second round with seven consecutive pars, before birdieing the eighth and ninth to move to nine under right before his round was cut short.

The winds were blowing in with such force that multiple large trees were blown down in spectator areas, but luckily there were reported no injuries.

One further back from Rahm in outright third is 23-year-old amateur Sam Bennett, shooting his second 68 in a row as he bounced back from his first bogey of the week on the fourth hole to go four-under through his final 14.

Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and top-10 talent Viktor Hovland (through 10 holes) are tied for fourth at six under, and while Jordan Spieth and Jason Day are still in the hunt at five under, Day will feel he let a golden opportunity slip.

Through 14 holes, Day was in outright second at nine under, but he finished with a double-bogey on 15, a bogey on 16 and another bogey on 18 to slip into a tie for sixth, seven shots off the pace.

In more strong representation from the LIV Golf players, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed and Joaquinn Niemann are all in the tie for 10th at four under.

Shot of the day

Cameron Smith started his second round with three bogeys from his first seven holes, but his last hole before play was cancelled was one to remember.

On the par-five eighth, Smith found the bunker with his tee shot, but instead of laying up he opted for the aggressive route and hit his fairway wood, trickling its way onto the side of the green and feeding back towards the hole to set up an eagle.

A little birdie told me…

Rookie Bennett made it to the end of his round in solo second at eight under, and if Rahm slips up, Bennett could become the first amateur since 1958 to hold solo second heading into the weekend.

In fact, his score is the second-best 36-hole mark by an amateur at Augusta, bettered only by Ken Venturi in 1956 (nine under), and they are the only amateurs to ever reach the weekend here with a figure better than three under.

Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland are tied for lead at seven under after Thursday's opening round at the Masters.

It was a shaky start for world number three Rahm as he stumbled to a double-bogey on the first hole, but he birdied the next two to quickly even out his card, before rattling off another five birdies and an eagle the rest of the way.

Koepka, a four-time major champion, is riding high after emerging victorious in last week's LIV Golf Orlando to become the breakaway tour's first ever two-time winner, and he looked terrific with eight birdies and one bogey.

Hovland was the only of the trio to go bogey-free, with the 25-year-old Norwegian now in a great position to make a run at his first major title.

They have a two-stroke lead on the chasing pack, with Australia's former world number one Jason Day shooting a bogey-free, five-under 67, and he is joined in a tie for fourth by Cameron Young.

Tiger Woods carded back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to salvage a disappointing two-over 74, leaving him with work to do on Friday if he is to make the cut.

World number one Scottie Scheffler is part of a loaded logjam tied for sixth at four under, which also includes world number seven Xander Schauffele, former Masters champion Adam Scott, WGC Match Play winner Sam Burns, and surprising rookie Sam Bennett.

Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth is at three under with two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith is at two under with reigning PGA Championship victor Justin Thomas, and Phil Mickelson is joined at one under by fellow Masters champions Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson.

Shot of the day

While Bennett's eagle chip-in, or Rahm's long iron setting up a five-foot eagle putt were worthy contenders, neither had the degree of difficulty of Hovland's par save on the 10th hole.

Landing in a horrible spot in the rough behind a bunker, with almost no green to work with, Hovland played a feathery flop into the fringe and allowed it to trickle next to the hole for an unlikely par.

A little birdie told me… 

It was a memorable day for Bennett, as the 23-year-old amateur began his first round at the Masters with a birdie on the first, an eagle on the second and another birdie on the sixth to tie the best front-nine score by an amateur at Augusta (32).

Meanwhile, after his best major finish last season with a T4 at The Open, Hovland tied his best round at a major, and set a new personal best around Augusta with his seven-under 65.

Joining him at the top of the leaderboard, Rahm will be trying to make history as the first player to ever win the Masters after double-bogeying their opening hole.

Jordan Spieth needed an incredible stroke of luck to sneak under the cut-line during Friday's weather-interrupted second round of The Players Championship.

On a day when the two best performers from round one – Chad Ramey and Collin Morikawa – both shot over par, the top story was the unlikely eagle on the final hole from Spieth to go from two over to even par.

Likely needing a birdie to make the cut, Spieth sliced his drive towards the water, but instead of going in and ending his week, it struck a spectator's knee and ricocheted back into the fairway.

He went on to put his second shot on the par-five ninth hole into the greenside rough, where he would chip in for eagle.

After the round, Spieth said he was "trying to get that guy's information and see literally whatever he wants this weekend because everything from here on out is because it hit him".

Meanwhile, still with plenty of holes to play after weather forced the afternoon starters to wrap up early, South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout (through 14) and Canada's Adam Svensson (through 11) sit two strokes clear of the field at eight under.

Morikawa could not replicate his opening 65, sitting at one over for his round through 11 holes and six under overall, tied with fellow American Ben Griffin and Australia's Min Woo Lee (through 15) in third.

World number two Scottie Scheffler (through 10) is with Taylor Pendrith as the only players at five under, while Jason Day and Viktor Hovland headline the final group in the top 10 at four under.

The field lost world number one Jon Rahm as he withdrew due to illness an hour before teeing off, while Rory McIlroy is almost certainly going to miss the cut at six over with eight holes to play.

Chad Ramey put together a memorable round on Thursday as he shot an eight-under 64 to lead The Players Championship after 18 holes.

Ramey, 30, has one PGA Tour victory to his name and is defying his recent form, having missed the cut in each of his past three starts, and he has not had a top-30 finish since October.

He finished his first trip around The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass with four birdies on the front nine and four more on the back nine – including on the famous 'island green' 17th hole – and was one of the few players to go bogey-free.

He is one stroke clear of two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, who was the only competitor to shoot a seven-under 65, also going bogey-free with five birdies and an eagle.

While Morikawa is the only player within two strokes of the lead, rookie Justin Suh has a chance to join him when he resumes on Friday with three holes to finish off. He is tied for third at five under, although his next shot will be a putt for eagle on the 16th.

Suh is joined by Taylor Pendrith and Ben Griffin at five under, while world number two Scottie Scheffler headlines the group tied for sixth at four under.

Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth are still in the mix after impressive three-under 69s as part of the afternoon group, who played in the trickier conditions, and coming off four consecutive top-10 finishes Jason Day is one further back at two under.

It was a day to forget for pre-tournament fancies Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, both at four over, while Hayden Buckley will never forget his shot of the day after acing at the famous 17th.

Jon Rahm remains the hottest player in golf after securing the Genesis Invitational title on Sunday with a final score of 17 under.

The win was his fifth from his past nine worldwide starts, and his third PGA Tour title of 2023 after going back-to-back at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express in January. He also won the Spanish Open in October, and the DP World Tour Championship in November.

He led by three strokes coming into his final round at Riviera Country Club, and he remained with a multi-stroke lead after posting a two-under front nine. But things went haywire on the home stretch, with bogeys on 10 and 12 briefly handing Max Homa a one-stroke lead.

Homa would bogey the 13th, tying things up at 15 under, before Rahm pulled away again with a 45-foot birdie putt on 14, and a tap-in birdie after a picture-perfect tee shot on the par-three 16th.

Homa ended up two strokes behind Rahm at 15 under, giving him his fourth top-three finish from eight PGA Tour starts this season, including two wins.

Patrick Cantlay finished one further back at 14 under, Will Zalatoris rode the best score of the day – a seven-under 64 – up into outright fourth place at 13 under, and Keith Mitchell rounded out the top five at 12 under.

Speaking to CBS after stepping off the final green, Rahm was asked to explain the joy of his 10th PGA Tour win, having surpassed the total of his childhood hero Seve Ballesteros (nine).

"I could explain exhaustion right now," he said. "Because that was a tough week, and a tough Sunday.

"Max battled out there, and Patrick kind of gave us a scare, but I'm just glad I could come through at the end.

"Beating Seve – I know he didn't play full-time PGA tour, and I know five of those wins are majors – but still, to reach that milestone of double-digit wins is pretty incredible.

"To do it at a golf course with this legacy, this history, and hosted by the man himself Tiger Woods – it's a true honour, I can't really explain it."

Woods carded a two-over 73 on Sunday to finish equal 45th at one-under overall.

Jon Rahm rolled in a birdie on the 18th hole to claim a three-shot lead after the third day at the Genesis Invitational on Saturday, while Tiger Woods produced his best round of the tournament.

The Spaniard overtook halfway point leader Max Homa by carding a bogey-free six-under-par 65 on Saturday, taking him to 15-under overall at Riviera Country Club.

Rahm was part of a trio of players, alongside Keith Mitchell and Lee Hodges, one stroke behind Homa heading into the third round but moved into the lead buoyed by four birdies on his front nine.

Woods narrowly made the cut on Friday and backed that up with a three-under round for 67 that included an eagle on the first hole, his 10th of the round, with a brilliant approach setting up a tap-in putt.

The 47-year-old remains well back on the leaderboard at three-under overall but moved up 32 spots for the round.

Homa slipped from the lead with back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes proving costly as he managed a round of two-under-par 69 to be 12-under overall.

Mitchell is one stroke behind him at 11-under, with Patrick Cantlay fourth on 10-under followed by Gary Woodland after his four-under-par 67 moved him up to nine-under overall.

There is a group of four players at seven-under overall ahead of the final day, including Denny McCarthy who shot the best round of the day with a seven-under-par 64 that included an eagle on the par-four 10th hole. He is tied with Collin Morikawa, Tom Hoge and Adam Svensson.

Max Homa is seeking his third title of the PGA Tour season after taking the outright lead into the weekend at the Genesis Invitational, while Tiger Woods also made the cut.

Homa followed his opening 64 with a three-under 68 on his second trip around Riviera Country Club, finishing his round at 10 under overall after a bogey on 18.

Currently ranked a career-high 12th in the world, Homa has a chance to break into the top-10 for the first time with another strong result.

Meanwhile, Woods' putter let him down as he posted a three over round, but despite three bogeys from his final four holes, he snuck in right on the cut-line at one over.

One stroke behind Homa at nine under are the trio of Jon Rahm, Keith Mitchell and Lee Hodges, with Hodges the only player to shoot a 66 or better on Friday.

Collin Morikawa is alone in fifth at eight under, Patrick Cantlay is the only player at seven under, while Rory McIlroy (six under) and Will Zalatoris (five under) also find themselves in the top-10.

World number one Scottie Scheffler is one further back at four under, and former world number one Jason Day clawed his way back into contention with a 67 to sit at three under.

The shot of the day came from world number six Xander Schauffele, who was two strokes outside the cut-line before a slam-dunk eagle on the par-five 17th, making it through on the number.

Max Homa and Keith Mitchell are tied for the lead after Thursday at the Genesis Invitational, but all eyes were on Tiger Woods as he finished his opening round with three consecutive birdies.

In his first non-major PGA Tour start since October 2020, Woods displayed impressive physical capabilities, often out-driving his playing partners Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.

The 15-time major champion birdied his first hole – to a raucous ovation – but he had three bogeys and one birdie over his next 11, reaching the 15th at one over.

He proceeded to electrify the audience with a birdie after a beautiful approach on the par-three 16th, before following it with a long-range birdie putt on the par-five 17th, and another picture-perfect approach on the last set him up for his third birdie in a row to finish at two under.

Playing partners McIlroy (four under) and Thomas (three under) both also birdied the 18th in a thrilling finale for the featured group.

Homa and Mitchell were the only players to shoot seven-under 64s during their first trip around Riviera Country Club, while the red-hot Jon Rahm is alone in third at six under.

Collin Morikawa is part of the three-man group at five under, McIlroy headlines the group at four under, and Thomas is joined by Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler at three under.

There is a loaded group with Woods at two under, including Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele and Im Sung-jae.

Half the field still need to complete their opening round, but Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin raced around with the early group to take a share of the lead into Friday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Taylor had a rollercoaster of a round, posting a one-over front-nine after an eagle, a double-bogey and a bogey, before flying home with six birdies on the back-nine to finish at five under.

He is joined by Canadian compatriot Hadwin as the only players to finish rounds of 66, but there is a strong chasing pack who were unable to finish that will look to snatch the round-one lead on Friday morning.

World number six Xander Schauffele is one stroke off the lead at four under, although he has finished his round, while joining him in a tie for third are former world number one Jason Day (through 10) and American Jim Herman (through 13).

The red-hot Jon Rahm will have his sights on the top, sitting at three under with five holes to play, as will both Max Homa and Keegan Bradley who are also at three under with six holes to play.

Major champion Matt Fitzpatrick is joined by Tony Finau, Sam Burns and Im Sung-jae in the group who completed one-under rounds, while Jordan Spieth posted an even-par 71.

Justin Thomas (one over through 12) will have a chance to still finish his first round under par, while Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young will all be trying to fight their way back into contention after finishing two over.

Max Homa produced his best round of the week to erase a five-stroke deficit and win the Farmers Insurance Open with a score of 13 under.

Low scores were hard to come by on the difficult Torrey Pines South Course, with only three players posting final scores of 10 under or better, while Homa's 13 under was the worst winning score of the season so far.

Coming into Saturday's final round at seven under, Homa posted seven birdies and one bogey to shoot 66, tying the round of the day and finishing with a birdie on the last to win by two strokes.

It is the sixth PGA Tour win of Homa's career, and he now has back-to-back multi-win seasons after also collecting the opening event of the campaign at September's Fortinet Championship.

The only other player to shoot a six-under 66 in the final round was Keegan Bradley, flying up the leaderboard into outright second place at 11 under, while world number eight Collin Morikawa finished alone in third at 10 under. 

Sam Ryder was the outright leader after the second and third rounds, but he ended up in a tie for fourth at nine under due to a 75 in his final trip around the course that twice hosted the U.S. Open.

Coming into the event with four wins from his previous six starts, and starting Saturday at 10 under, Jon Rahm had to settle for seventh after a two-over 74, tying with former world number one Jason Day.

In-form Jon Rahm surged into contention at the Farmers Insurance Open on Moving Day at Torrey Pines but Sam Ryder remains two shots clear ahead of the final round.

The Spaniard, who started the day at four-under overall, carded an impressive six-under-par 66 on Friday to fly up the leaderboard to 10 under and be within two strokes of Ryder (12 under).

Ryder had held a three-stroke advantage at the halfway point and maintained his lead despite an even round that included one birdie, where he made a great save after hitting the cart path, and one bogey as the event switched to the South Course for the final two days.

World number three Rahm seemed to relish the conditions in an ominous sign ahead of the final round, with the second-best round of the day underlining his surge, that included a run of three straight birdies before an eagle on the ninth.

Rahm moved into outright second with the eagle, with an excellent approach on to the green followed by an 11-foot putt. The 28-year-old claimed his first PGA Tour victory in 2017 at Torrey Pines.

Tony Finau enjoyed the best round of the day, carding an eight-under-par 64 to move into outright third at eight-under overall.

Finau, who was the only player to go bogey-free, had six birdies plus an eagle on the par-four first hole when he holed out from 138 yards on his approach.

A group of four players are tied for fourth at seven-under overall, in Sungjae Im, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Sahith Theegala.